Cyclones ranked number 4 by APThe Russellville Cyclones jump to No. 4 in the Class 6A after Friday's homecoming victory over the Benton Panthers, according to The Associated Press. Russellville received three votes to jump in to the top 10 overall teams in the state. Meanwhile, Hector and Danville remain No. 3 and No. 4 respectively in the Class 2A. AP Poll results LITTLE ROCK -- The top 10 overall high school football teams in Arkansas and the top five in Classes 6A, 5A, ...

Pottsville tennis wins seven on senior nightPOTTSVILLE -- The Pottsville Apaches and Lady Apaches tennis team hosted the Shiloh Christian Saints recently. Pottsville won seven of nine matches. "Tonightw as senior night, and I wanted nothing more than our seniors to be honored how they have always played -- unmatched hard work, commitment, leadership and tons of heart," said Pottsville head coach Keri McAllister. "They have set excellent examples, and we will miss their contribution next...

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Courier Sports StaffThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

RHS inducts seven into Hall of FameTHE COURIER / Joshua Mashon Russellville High School inducted seven into the Athletic Hall of Fame and the Coaches Hall of Honor at luncheon at Friday. Inductees are (from left): Front -- Alyssa Owens, Shameka Ealy, Andrea Bond; back -- Don Keaster, Linda Lowrey, Larry Walker Sr. and Robyn Richardson. Also inducted was Ashton Sitkowski, who was not present. Bond was inducted for swimming, while Ealy was inducted for basketball and volleyball a...

Pirates overcome over Sand Lizards 41-36DOVER -- If this is any indication of what's going to happen in the 4A-4 Conference this season, get ready for a wild ride during the next six weeks. Trailing 35-14 with 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Dardanelle Sand Lizards scored three touchdowns and got a huge two-point conversion to go ahead of the Dover Pirates 36-35 with 3:22 remaining in the game. Dover answered with a time-consuming drive, and Jacob Sharp threw a touchdown...

Pirates overcome over Sand Lizards 41-36DOVER — If this is any indication of what’s going to happen in the 4A-4 Conference this season, get ready for a wild ride during the next six weeks. Trailing 35-14 with 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Dardanelle Sand Lizards scored three touchdowns and got a huge two-point conversion to go ahead of the Dover Pirates 36-35 with 3:22 remaining in the game. Dover answered with a time-consuming drive, and Jacob Sharp threw a touchdown ...

Red Devils beat Warriors 29-14ATKINS — Both teams ended the first half scoreless, but the Atkins Red Devils have senior Cory Childress, who hauled in two long touchdown passes and intercepted a Lamar pass to help Atkins beat the Warriors 29-14 at Sorrels Stadium at Lemley FIeld. The Red Devils (2-1, 1-0 3A-4 Conference) got the opening kickoff and went down the field on a long drive deep into Lamar (1-3, 0-1) territory that took up most of the first quarter. But an incompl...

Cyclones stay perfect, beat Benton 45-24The Russellville Cyclones rode five touchdowns by senior Caleb Stokes to a 45-24 victory on Friday at Cyclone Stadium to celebrate homecoming, pick up its first 6A-West Conference win and stay undefeated. "Who would have thought we'd be here a year ago," Russellville head coach Billy Dawson asked the team after the game. Dawson explained: "A year ago tonight, we lost to Bryant in the final minutes of the game on a kickoff return. The mentality...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Little Johns dominate WYC, 44-7HAVANA — The Danville Little Johns held the Western Yell County Wolverines to 83 yards of total offense while wracking up over 400 yards themselves during Friday's 44-7 win at Wolverine Field. Danville (4-0, 3-0 2A-4 Conference) scored with 3:36 left in the first quarter on a 38-yard pass from Preston Donnell to Juan Ponce to make it 8-0 after Donnell carried in the 2-point conversion. The Little Johns got a safety when Zach Stanley blocked a ...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Cyclones come homeRussellville head coach Billy Dawson believes homecoming festivities are about as distracting as you make them. Spirit week, the parade, the pep rally -- that's all well and good, Dawson said, as long as the team remembers its main responsibility: Win a football game. "It's all been fine," Dawson said. "I have taken the path at homecoming that it's whatever you decide to make it. If you make it a distraction, it will be. Our kids have some ext...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSONsports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Whirlwinds lose 4th straightLITTLE ROCK -- The Russellville Whirlwinds ran out of time as they fell to the Little Rock Catholic Junior Rockets 12-7 on Thursday. Catholic went up 12-0 by halftime and scored on its second and third possession of the second quarter. Little Rock scored first on a 10-play, 64-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard run by Brandon Ward with 4:47 left in the half. The Whirlwinds (0-4, 0-3 Central River Valley Junior High Conference) blocked the PAT...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

#throwbackthursdayTHE COURIER / File NAIA LEADERS ... Arkansas Techâ€â ˘s quarterback Winky May (left) and left end, Joe Reese, are among the leaders in passing and pass receiving in the nation. May, junior from Sheridan, is 17th in the nation in passing and has thrown 67 passes for 415 yards gain. Reese, junior from Little Rock, is 19th in the nation in pass receiving and has caught 11 for 276 yards gain. Three of the passes went for touchdowns Techâ€â ˘s next...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Apaches, Lady Pirates golf win 4A-4 DistrictThe Dover Lady Pirates and Pottsville Apaches golf teams each won 4A-4 District championships on Tuesday at the Russellville Country Club. The Dover Pirates brought home runners-up honors. Pottsville head coach Matt Lee said he was extremely proud of the effort his team displayed during the tournament. "This is a tremendous accomplishment for a great group of student athletes," he said. "The whole team is to be commended for their efforts." Me...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Cyclone Invite set for Saturday at Old Post ParkThe 43rd annual Cyclone Invitational on Saturday at Old Post Park is the longest continuous running cross country meet in Arkansas. The meet was created by former Cyclones and Arkansas Hall of Fame coach Don Carnahan in 1973. Russellville head coach John Frazier expects as many as 25 teams and 1,000 runners to trek the pathways at Old Post Park -- including several big-hitters from the 7A-West. 'We have Lake Hamilton, Bentonville, Springdale H...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Greenwood sweeps Lady CyclonesGREENWOOD -- The Russellville Lady Cyclones volleyball team fell in three straight sets to the Greenwood Lady Bulldogs on Tuesday. Russellville lost 14-25, 24-26, 23-25. "We played well," Lady Cyclones head coach Cindy Jones said. "Should be a good game at our place. We had 12 blocks on the night, and our defense did a great job. The ball just didn't bounce our way at critical times." RJHS beats Lake Hamilton The Russellville Junior High Schoo...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Sand Lizards, Pirates to clash in 4A-4 openerDOVER -- Dardanelle head coach Phil Vega expects the same blue-collar, smashmouth football the Dover Pirates have used to take back-to-back 4A-4 Conference runners-up behind Dardanelle's back-to-back conference championships. "They're going to run the football," Vega said. "And they're going to do it extremely hard. We're going to have to gang tackle them as much as we can." Smith is expecting a similar, yet different team to the one the Pirat...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Cyclones ranked 6th by APThe Russellville Cyclones are ranked No. 6 in Class 6A following their 24-17 win over the then-No. 7 overall Springdale Bulldogs. Russellville received nine votes for sixth-place in The Associated Press' Arkansas Prep Poll, and no votes to breach the Top-10 overall. The Dardanelle Sand Lizards are ranked 6th in Class 4A by the AP, while Hector holds third and Danville fourth in Class 2A. Rankings The top 10 overall high school football teams i...

Cyclone football - Did you know?THE COURIER / Tommy Parker The Russellville Cyclones open the season with three straight wins. The last time the Cyclones opened 3-0 was in 2013. The team has only begun with three straight wins 27 times in 108 years. In 17 of those seasons, Russellville went on to win its fourth game. Pictured: Russellville's Jacob Reed lays down a block during the Cyclones 24-17 victory over Springdale on Friday.

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSONsports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Lady Cyclones improve at Volley in the ValleyLady Cyclones head coach Cindy Jones saw some good things during Russellville's annual volleyball tournament, Volley in the Valley, on Saturday inside Cyclone Arena. "We had a great day on Saturday," she said. "It seems like we are really coming together well, trusting each other and knowing where everyone is going to be on the floor. Our servers continued to serve well and missed probably three serves all day. Our setters are continuing to fe...

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BY TRAVIS SIMPSON
sports@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley